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{{noncompliant}} {{italic title}}
{{Infobox military unit
⚫ |unit_name=''Selbstschutz''
|image=Inspection of Selbstschutz unit in Bydgoszcz.jpg
|image_size=370px
|caption=Inspection of {{lang|de|Selbstschutz}} unit in ] (in ], Bromberg), ]. From l. to r.: Josef "Bloody" Meier, leader of {{lang|de|Selbstschutz}} in Bydgoszcz; Werner Kampe, new '']'' mayor of Bydgoszcz; and ], leader of {{lang|de|Selbstschutz}} in ]
|dates=
|country=] and ]: ], ], ] and the ]
|allegiance=Post-WWI (in Ukraine): Imperial Germany / Russian ]<br>WWII: Nazi Germany/the '']''
|branch=
|type=Militia, ] police reserve or civil defense organization
|role=
|size=
|command_structure=
|nickname=
}}
{{Split|date=October 2023|Selbstschutz (Mennonite)|Selbstschutz Oberschlesien|Selbstschutz (World War II)|discuss=Talk:Selbstschutz#Splitting_proposal}}
'''''Selbstschutz''''' (German for "self-protection") is the name given to different iterations of ethnic-German self-protection units formed both after the First World War and in the lead-up to the Second World War.


The first incarnation of the ''Selbstschutz'' was a German ] organisation formed after ] for ethnic Germans who lived outside Germany in the territories occupied by Germany and Austria-Hungary following the conclusion of the ]. The purpose of these units was to protect local ethnic-German communities and, indirectly, to serve German security interests in southern Ukraine. Another iteration of the ''Selbstschutz'' concept was established in Silesia and aimed at returning Polish-inhabited territories back to Germany following the rebirth of Poland. In 1921, the units of ''Selbstschutz'' took part in the fights against the Polish ].
'''''Selbstschutz''''' (]: ''Self-protection'') was a paramilitary organisation created out of ]. Selbstschutz was formed both after ] in territories inhabited by Germans and Poles and at the beginning of ] in ] and ] by Germans that possessed the citizenship of those countries. The organisation is known for its widespread involvement in atrocities.


The third incarnation operated in territories of ] and ] before and after the beginning of ] notably in ], the ], ], ] and the ]. This ''Selbstschutz'' organization took on the character of the Nazi-era in which it was formulated and organized.
⚫ ==Post World War I==

In ] Selbstschutz militia engaged in attacks against Polish activists and newspapers and harassed the local Polish population.
In 1938, a campaign was started by local ''Selbstschutz'' ] in the Czechoslovakian ] in order to subjugate the local Czechs prior to the ]. During the ] of 1939, a number of similar units conducted sabotage actions directed by the emissaries trained in ]. These groups were officially merged into one organization, the ethnic German '']'' (Self-Defense Force) of more than 100,000 men. They took part in fighting the Poles as the ], but also served as auxiliary forces of the ], '']'' and ] during the early stages of the occupation of Poland, and helped the Nazi administration in the newly formed '']'' and '']''. They served as local controllers, informers, and members of execution squads particularly active in the wave of mass murders of ] during ] and other more local and vengeful atrocities. The killings of Poles and Jews ascribed specifically to members of ''Volksdeutsche Selbstschutz'' is estimated at the minimum of 10,000 men, women and children.<ref>Jansen and Weckbecker, 1992, pp. 7-8</ref> The force was disbanded in winter 1939/40 and the majority of its members joined the German ''SS'' or Gestapo by the spring of the following year.
In 1921 its organised units fought against the Polish nationalist movement in the ] that was aimed at abolishing German rule over Upper Silesia.

⚫ ==Post-First World War Mennonite units==
After the occupation of Ukraine by German and Austro-Hungarian forces in 1918, the German occupying authorities assisted in establishing ''Selbstschutz'' units drawn from the numerous ethnic-German communities in southern Ukraine. The ''Selbstschutz'' assisted in serving German security interests in Ukraine following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. ] men were included in this program and members were drawn from the ] and ] ] colonies with training and armaments provided by the ]. Before the end of the occupation, German soldiers supervised the creation of several ''Selbstschutz'' units, leaving weapons, ammunition, and a few officers to command the groups. Together with a neighboring Lutheran German colony, the young men from Molotschna formed twenty companies totaling 2,700 infantry and 300 cavalry. During the ], these forces were initially successful in holding back the forces of ] ] until March 1919. However, the ] were ultimately overwhelmed and forced to retreat and disband when Makhno's partisans allied with and were reinforced by, the ]. As the Russian Civil War progressed, some Mennonites were integrated within ethnic battalions of the Russian ].<ref> For discussion see: "The Makhnovists and the Mennonites: war and peace in the Ukrainian Revolution" https://libcom.org/history/makhnovists-mennonites-war-peace-ukrainian-civil-war</ref>

The attempt to defend the villages departed from the traditional Mennonite teaching of ] and was disapproved of by many colonists. Others regarded the collapse of effective governmental authority as sufficient justification for the creation of self-defense units. This sentiment was reinforced by horrific atrocities committed by anarchist bands against Mennonite communities.

While ''Selbstschutz'' units had some success in protecting Mennonite communities from further atrocities and in providing time for the civil population to flee to areas held by ], the abandonment of nonresistance proved to be highly divisive. Some believed that the self-defense actions may have inflamed anarchist atrocities committed against Mennonite civilians. As a result, later church conferences and delegations officially condemned the self-defense measures as a "grave mistake".<ref>Smith, 1981, p. 316</ref><ref name="Krahn">{{cite web |author=Krahn, Cornelius and Al Reimer |orig-year=1989 |year=2008 |title=Selbstschutz, Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online |access-date=2014-05-20 |url=http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/S444ME.html/? |format=Internet Archive |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202025851/http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/S444ME.html/ |archive-date=February 2, 2010 }}</ref>

==Silesia and Poland==
''Selbstschutz'' militia were also active in ] on the German side of the Polish/German conflicts in the area. In 1921, its organized units resisted the Polish rebellion in the ]; which was aimed at seceding Upper Silesia from Germany.


==World War II== ==World War II==
] ]]
Selbstschutz was reintroduced during the late 1930s in Poland and Czechoslovakia. Selbstschutz activists terrorised the Czech population in the ]..
{{Main|Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz|Massacres in Piaśnica}}
The ''Selbstschutz'' were reintroduced during the late 1930s in Poland and Czechoslovakia. The ''Selbstschutz'' Sudetendeutsches Freikorps activists worked to indoctrinate ethnic Germans locally and commit acts of terrorism against the Czech population in the Sudetenland.<ref></ref>


In the interwar period German minority organisations in Poland such as ], ], ], ] actively cooperated with Nazi Germany, through espionage, sabotage, provocations and political indoctrination. They maintained close contact and were directed by ], Auslandsorganisation, ], ] and ]. Kampania Wrześniowa 1939 estimated that 25% of the German minority in Poland were members of these organisations. In the interwar period, the German minority organizations in Poland included '']'' (Young German party), ''Deutsche Vereinigung'' (German Union), ''Deutscher Volksbund'' (German peoples Union) and '']'' (German peoples United).<ref name="Chu2012">{{cite book|author=Winson Chu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00pnVVpoddYC&pg=PA18|title=The German Minority in Interwar Poland|date=25 June 2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-00830-4|page=18}}</ref> All of them actively cooperated with Nazi Germany in anti-Polish espionage, sabotage, provocations, and political indoctrination. They maintained close contact with and were directed by the ] (Nazi Party), ''Auslandsorganisation'' (Foreign Affairs Organization), ] (Secret Police), ] (Security Service) and ] (Defense).<ref name="Sobczak1975">{{cite book|author=Kazimierz Sobczak|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NEEDAAAAMAAJ|title=Encyklopedia II wojny światowej|publisher=Wydawictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej|year=1975|page=420}}</ref>


In October 1938 SD agents were already organising Selbstschutz in Poland. Ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship were trained in the Third Reich in sabotage operations and guerilla tactics. By October 1938, SD agents were organizing the ''Selbstschutz'' in Poland. Ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship were trained in the Third Reich in various sabotage methods and guerilla tactics. Even before the war, ''Selbstschutz'' activists from Poland helped to organize lists of Poles who later were to be arrested or executed in ].


⚫ With the beginning of the ] on 1 September 1939, Selbstschutz units engaged in hostilities towards the Polish population and military, and performed sabotage operations helping the German attack on the Polish state. In mid-September, the chaotic and autonomous activities of this organization were coordinated by ] officers. Himmler placed Gustav Berger, a police official from ], in charge of the organization and district commanders in occupied zones made by the German army were put in place &mdash; ], ] and '']''.
Even before the war Selbstschutz activists from Poland helped to organise lists of Poles targeted for execution in ].
With the ] Selbstschutz units engaged in hostility towards the Polish population and military, and performed sabotage operations helping the German advance against the Polish state.
⚫ In mid-September the chaotic and autonomous activities of this organisation were coordinated by ] officers. ] was placed in charge of the organisation and district commanders in occupied zones made by the German army were put in place &mdash; ], ] and ].


While the SS leadership was limited to overseeing the operations, local units remained under the control of ethnic Germans who had proved their commitment at the beginning of the war. While the SS leadership was limited to overseeing the operations, local units remained under the control of ethnic Germans who had proven their commitment at the beginning of the war.


===Participation in war crimes===
Selbstschutz also organised concentration camps for Poles. Occasionally they were founded on places where Wehrmacht or German police units established camps. There were 19 such camps in the following places: ] (Bromberg), ] (Strasburg), ] (Kulm), ], ], ], ] (Lippe), ], ] (Nakel), ] (near ]), ] (over ]), ], ], ], ], ] (Schulitz), ] (Tuchel), ] (Briesen), ] (near ]), ] (Wirsitz).
{{See also|Nazi crimes against the Polish nation}}
Poles imprisoned in those camps (consisting of men, women and youth) in the majority were murdered in cruel ways.
The ''Selbstschutz'' set up locations for massacres of interned Poles. At times, they were organized in places where the ] and '']'' already established concentration camps. There were 19 such locations recorded in the following Polish cities: ] (see ]), ] (renamed ''Strasburg''), ] (see ]), ], ], Karolewo, Lipno (renamed Lippe), ], ] (Nakel), ] near ], ] on the ], ], ], ], ] (Schulitz), ] (Tuchel), ] (Briesen), ] near ], and ] (Wirsitz). The majority of the arrested Poles – men, women and youth – were murdered on the spot by ''Selbstschutz'' executioners.<ref name="Stutthof Museum">{{cite web|url=http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/rozdz3,2.htm |title=Oboz dla Jencow Cywilnych (''Zivilgefangenenlager'') |trans-title=Internment of Civilian Prisoners |publisher=] (Państwowe Muzeum Stutthof w Sztutowie) |work=Obozy Podlegle Organom Policyjnym (Monografia KL STUTTHOF. Chapter 2) |date=2006 |access-date=20 May 2014 |author=Konrad Ciechanowski |quote=''Translation from Polish:'' Rozstrzeliwanych dobijano łopatami, kolbami, a niekiedy zakopywano jeszcze żywych. Matki zmuszano do układania w wykopanych dołach swoich dzieci, a potem je same rozstrzeliwano. Przed rozstrzelaniem gwałcono dziewczęta i kobiety. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029144245/http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/rozdz3,2.htm |archive-date=October 29, 2007 }}</ref>
Polish intelligentsia, nationalists, Catholic priests, ], ], and even Catholic Germans, ethnic Germans married to Poles, and everybody who had been denounced by at least two ], were gathered in camps either for execution or deportation. Additionally the organisation worked together with ].


⚫ {{quote|People shot were finished off by blows delivered by shovels and the butts of assault rifles; they were buried in mass graves when still alive. Mothers were forced to place their children in the pits where they were shot together. Before executions women and girls were raped.(...) evoked horror even in the Germans, including some soldiers. Terrified at what they saw in the town of ] two of them felt compelled to submit a report (now in German federal archives).<ref name="Stutthof Museum"/>}}
Polish historians estimated that the majority of somewhere around 50,000 Poles killed during the early days of German occupation were victims of Selbstschutz.
By 5 October 1939 in West Prussia alone Selbstschutz under the command of ] reached 17,667 men and had already executed 4,247 Poles, while Alvensleben complained to Selbstschutz officers that too few Poles had been shot. (German officers had reported that only a fraction of Poles had been "destroyed" in the region with the total number of those executed in West Prussia during this action being about 20,000).
One Selbstschutz commander, Wilhelm Richardt, said in Karolewo (Karlhof) camp that he did not want to build big camps for Poles and feed them, and that it was an honor for Poles to fertilize the German soil with their corpses.
There was little opposition or lack of enthusiasm for activities of Selbstschutz among those involved in the action. There was even a case where a Selbstschutz commander was relieved after he failed to account all the Poles that were required, and it was found that he executed "only" 300 Poles.


After the ], the ''Selbstschutz'' worked together with the '']'' in the mass murder of ethnic Poles. For example, they took part in the ], the first elimination "aktion" of Polish intelligentsia. Between 12,000 and 16,000 civilians were murdered there. The '']'' was aimed at eliminating Poland's leadership in the country. The murder operations began soon after the attack on Poland and lasted from the fall of 1939 until the spring of 1940.<ref>Encyklopedia PWN, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607153129/http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo.php?id=3915048 |date=2011-06-07 }} {{in lang|pl}}</ref> As the result of Nazi genocidal policy, in 10 regional actions 60,000 Polish teachers, entrepreneurs, landowners, social workers, military veterans, members of national organisations, priests, judges, and political activists were killed.<ref>Maria Wardzyńska, "Był rok 1939 Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion". IPN ], 2009, {{ISBN|978-83-7629-063-8}}</ref> The ''Intelligenzaktion'' was continued by the ].<ref>Meier, Anna "Die Intelligenzaktion: Die Vernichtung der polnischen Oberschicht im Gau Danzig-Westpreußen" ], {{ISBN|3-639-04721-4}} {{ISBN|978-3-639-04721-9}}</ref>
The total number of Selbstschutz members in Poland is estimated at 82,000.


In West Prussia, the ''Selbstschutz'' organization led by ''SS-Gruppenführer'' ] was 17,667 men strong, and by 5 October 1939 had already executed 4,247 Poles. Notably, Alvensleben complained to the ''Selbstschutz'' officers that too few Poles had been shot. German officers had reported to him that only a fraction of Poles had been "destroyed" in the region, with the total number of those executed in West Prussia during this action being about 20,000. One ''Selbstschutz'' commander, Wilhelm Richardt, said in ] (Karlhof) that he did not want to build big camps for Poles and feed them, and that it was an honour for Poles to fertilize the German soil with their corpses.<ref name="Browning 2004 33">{{cite book |last=Browning |year=2004| title=The Origins of the Final Solution |url=https://archive.org/details/originsoffinalso00brow |url-access=registration |page=|publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=9780803213272 }}</ref> There was visible enthusiasm for activities of the ''Selbstschutz'' among those involved in the action.<ref name="Browning 2004 33"/> Only in one case a ''Selbstschutz'' commander was relieved of duty after failing to finish his job with "only" 300 Poles executed.<ref name="Browning 2004 33"/>
⚫ The organisation was ordered to be dissolved on 26 November 1939, yet this process continued until the spring of 1940. Among the reasons for this order were cases of heavy corruption, disorderly behaviour and conflicts with other organisations as well as excessive use of force.


⚫ The total number of ''Selbstschutz'' members in Poland is estimated by historians at 82,000. The organization was ordered to be dissolved on 26&nbsp;November 1939 in favour of service with the ''SS'', yet the work continued until the spring of 1940. Among the reasons for dissolution were the ''Selbstschutz''{{'}}s extreme corruption, disorderly behaviour and conflicts with other organizations, as well as excessive use of force.
The existence of a large paramilitary organisation of ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship that helped in the German war against Poland and engaged in widespread massacres of Poles served as one of the reasons for the ].


The existence of a large paramilitary organization of ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship who engaged in widespread massacres of ethnic Poles in the course of the German war against Poland was one of the reasons for the ]. A description of the ''Selbstschutz''{{'}}s involvement, made available by the Polish State Museum in ], contains material compiled three years before the war broke out, for the Nazi authorities to use in extermination of the Poles thereafter.<ref name=Museum-2>{{cite web |url=http://stutthof.org/english/node/8 |title=History of concentration camp Stutthof |publisher=State Museum of Stutthof (Muzeum Stutthof w Sztutowie) |access-date=20 March 2013 |archive-date=12 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012085930/http://stutthof.org/english/node/8 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Quotes==
⚫ "People executed by shooting were finished by blows from shovels, or by beating with rifles, sometimes they were even buried alive. Mothers were forced to place their children in mass graves where they were shot together afterwards. Before executions women and girls were raped.(...) evoked horror even in Germans, including some soldiers who were terrified at what they saw in the camps." &mdash; A short description of Selbstschutz operations from Polish State Museum of Stutthof


==See also== ==See also==
*] (Polska Organizacja Wojskowa)
⚫ *]
*] *]
*] *]

⚫ *]
==Notes==
<!--<nowiki>
See http://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref> and </ref> tags, and the template below.
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{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{cite book |last1=Jansen |first1=Christian |last2=Weckbecker|first2=Arno |title=Der "Volksdeutsche Selbstschutz" in Polen 1939/40 (Schriftenreihe der Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte - Bd. 64) |year=1992 |publisher=R. Oldenbourg Verlag |location=München |isbn=3-486-64564-1}}
*C. Henry Smith, Revised and expanded by Cornelius Krahn (1981), "Smith's Story of the Mennonites", Faith and Life Press, Newton, Kansas, {{ISBN|0-87303-069-9}}
*{{cite book |last=Browning |first=Christopher R. |author-link=Christopher R. Browning |title=The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942 |url=https://archive.org/details/originsoffinalso00brow |year=2004 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln |isbn=0-8032-1327-1 |url-access=registration }}
⚫ *"Germany and Eastern Europe: Cultural Identities and Cultural Differences", Keith Bullivant, ], Walter Pap
*"Selbstschutz im Luftschutz. Eine Anweisung für jedermann über Schutz und Verhalten bei Fliegerangriffen". ], ], Berlin-Wilmersdorf: Selbstschutz Verlag, s.d. , 1925.
*Georges Jerome Les milices d'autoprotection de la communauté allemande de Pomérélie, Posnanie et Silésie polonaise 1939 1940. Revue Guerres mondiales et conflits contemporains PUF n°163 1991


==External links== ==External links==
*{{de icon}} * (in German)
⚫ * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012085930/http://stutthof.org/english/node/8 |date=2013-10-12 }} from Polish State Museum of Stutthof
*{{pl icon}}
⚫ *{{pl icon}} from Polish State Museum of Stutthof.


{{Authority control}}
==Sources==
* "The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942" Christopher R Browning. University of Nebraska Press
⚫ * "Germany and Eastern Europe: Cultural Identities and Cultural Differences by Keith Bullivant, Geoffrey Giles, Walter Pap


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Latest revision as of 04:18, 24 January 2024

Selbstschutz
Inspection of Selbstschutz unit in Bydgoszcz (in German, Bromberg), Poland. From l. to r.: Josef "Bloody" Meier, leader of Selbstschutz in Bydgoszcz; Werner Kampe, new SS mayor of Bydgoszcz; and Ludolf von Alvensleben, leader of Selbstschutz in Pomerania
CountryCentral and Eastern Europe: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union
AllegiancePost-WWI (in Ukraine): Imperial Germany / Russian Volunteer Army
WWII: Nazi Germany/the SS
TypeMilitia, Paramilitary police reserve or civil defense organization
Military unit
It has been suggested that this article be split into articles titled Selbstschutz (Mennonite), Selbstschutz Oberschlesien and Selbstschutz (World War II). (discuss) (October 2023)

Selbstschutz (German for "self-protection") is the name given to different iterations of ethnic-German self-protection units formed both after the First World War and in the lead-up to the Second World War.

The first incarnation of the Selbstschutz was a German paramilitary organisation formed after World War I for ethnic Germans who lived outside Germany in the territories occupied by Germany and Austria-Hungary following the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The purpose of these units was to protect local ethnic-German communities and, indirectly, to serve German security interests in southern Ukraine. Another iteration of the Selbstschutz concept was established in Silesia and aimed at returning Polish-inhabited territories back to Germany following the rebirth of Poland. In 1921, the units of Selbstschutz took part in the fights against the Polish Third Silesian Uprising.

The third incarnation operated in territories of Central and Eastern Europe before and after the beginning of World War II notably in Poland, the Free City of Danzig, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. This Selbstschutz organization took on the character of the Nazi-era in which it was formulated and organized.

In 1938, a campaign was started by local Selbstschutz Sudetendeutsches Freikorps in the Czechoslovakian Sudetenland in order to subjugate the local Czechs prior to the Munich Conference. During the Invasion of Poland of 1939, a number of similar units conducted sabotage actions directed by the emissaries trained in Nazi Germany. These groups were officially merged into one organization, the ethnic German Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz (Self-Defense Force) of more than 100,000 men. They took part in fighting the Poles as the Fifth Column, but also served as auxiliary forces of the Gestapo, SS and SD during the early stages of the occupation of Poland, and helped the Nazi administration in the newly formed Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia and Reichsgau Wartheland. They served as local controllers, informers, and members of execution squads particularly active in the wave of mass murders of Polish intelligentsia during Operation Tannenberg and other more local and vengeful atrocities. The killings of Poles and Jews ascribed specifically to members of Volksdeutsche Selbstschutz is estimated at the minimum of 10,000 men, women and children. The force was disbanded in winter 1939/40 and the majority of its members joined the German SS or Gestapo by the spring of the following year.

Post-First World War Mennonite units

After the occupation of Ukraine by German and Austro-Hungarian forces in 1918, the German occupying authorities assisted in establishing Selbstschutz units drawn from the numerous ethnic-German communities in southern Ukraine. The Selbstschutz assisted in serving German security interests in Ukraine following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Russian Mennonite men were included in this program and members were drawn from the Molotschna and Chortitza Mennonite colonies with training and armaments provided by the German imperial army. Before the end of the occupation, German soldiers supervised the creation of several Selbstschutz units, leaving weapons, ammunition, and a few officers to command the groups. Together with a neighboring Lutheran German colony, the young men from Molotschna formed twenty companies totaling 2,700 infantry and 300 cavalry. During the Russian Civil War, these forces were initially successful in holding back the forces of anarchist Nestor Makhno until March 1919. However, the self-defense groups were ultimately overwhelmed and forced to retreat and disband when Makhno's partisans allied with and were reinforced by, the Red Army. As the Russian Civil War progressed, some Mennonites were integrated within ethnic battalions of the Russian Volunteer Army.

The attempt to defend the villages departed from the traditional Mennonite teaching of nonresistance and was disapproved of by many colonists. Others regarded the collapse of effective governmental authority as sufficient justification for the creation of self-defense units. This sentiment was reinforced by horrific atrocities committed by anarchist bands against Mennonite communities.

While Selbstschutz units had some success in protecting Mennonite communities from further atrocities and in providing time for the civil population to flee to areas held by White Russian forces, the abandonment of nonresistance proved to be highly divisive. Some believed that the self-defense actions may have inflamed anarchist atrocities committed against Mennonite civilians. As a result, later church conferences and delegations officially condemned the self-defense measures as a "grave mistake".

Silesia and Poland

Selbstschutz militia were also active in Silesia on the German side of the Polish/German conflicts in the area. In 1921, its organized units resisted the Polish rebellion in the Third Silesian Uprising; which was aimed at seceding Upper Silesia from Germany.

World War II

Selbstschutz chiefs ready for SS-Aktionen in Gdańsk Pomerania
Main articles: Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz and Massacres in Piaśnica

The Selbstschutz were reintroduced during the late 1930s in Poland and Czechoslovakia. The Selbstschutz Sudetendeutsches Freikorps activists worked to indoctrinate ethnic Germans locally and commit acts of terrorism against the Czech population in the Sudetenland.

In the interwar period, the German minority organizations in Poland included Jungdeutsche Partei (Young German party), Deutsche Vereinigung (German Union), Deutscher Volksbund (German peoples Union) and Deutscher Volksverband (German peoples United). All of them actively cooperated with Nazi Germany in anti-Polish espionage, sabotage, provocations, and political indoctrination. They maintained close contact with and were directed by the NSDAP (Nazi Party), Auslandsorganisation (Foreign Affairs Organization), Gestapo (Secret Police), SD (Security Service) and Abwehr (Defense).

By October 1938, SD agents were organizing the Selbstschutz in Poland. Ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship were trained in the Third Reich in various sabotage methods and guerilla tactics. Even before the war, Selbstschutz activists from Poland helped to organize lists of Poles who later were to be arrested or executed in Operation Tannenberg.

With the beginning of the Invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, Selbstschutz units engaged in hostilities towards the Polish population and military, and performed sabotage operations helping the German attack on the Polish state. In mid-September, the chaotic and autonomous activities of this organization were coordinated by SS officers. Himmler placed Gustav Berger, a police official from Offenbach, in charge of the organization and district commanders in occupied zones made by the German army were put in place — West Prussia, Upper Silesia and Warthegau.

While the SS leadership was limited to overseeing the operations, local units remained under the control of ethnic Germans who had proven their commitment at the beginning of the war.

Participation in war crimes

See also: Nazi crimes against the Polish nation

The Selbstschutz set up locations for massacres of interned Poles. At times, they were organized in places where the Wehrmacht and Ordnungspolizei already established concentration camps. There were 19 such locations recorded in the following Polish cities: Bydgoszcz (see Bromberg-Ost), Brodnica (renamed Strasburg), Chełmno (see Chełmno extermination camp), Dorposz Szlachecki, Kamień Krajeński, Karolewo, Lipno (renamed Lippe), Łobżenica, Nakło (Nakel), Nowy Wiec near Skarszew, Nowe on the Vistula, Piastoszyn, Płutowo, Sępólno Krajeńskie, Solec Kujawski (Schulitz), Tuchola (Tuchel), Wąbrzeźno (Briesen), Wolental near Skórcz, and Wyrzysk (Wirsitz). The majority of the arrested Poles – men, women and youth – were murdered on the spot by Selbstschutz executioners.

People shot were finished off by blows delivered by shovels and the butts of assault rifles; they were buried in mass graves when still alive. Mothers were forced to place their children in the pits where they were shot together. Before executions women and girls were raped.(...) evoked horror even in the Germans, including some soldiers. Terrified at what they saw in the town of Świecie two of them felt compelled to submit a report (now in German federal archives).

After the German invasion of Poland, the Selbstschutz worked together with the Einsatzgruppen in the mass murder of ethnic Poles. For example, they took part in the massacres in Piaśnica, the first elimination "aktion" of Polish intelligentsia. Between 12,000 and 16,000 civilians were murdered there. The Intelligenzaktion was aimed at eliminating Poland's leadership in the country. The murder operations began soon after the attack on Poland and lasted from the fall of 1939 until the spring of 1940. As the result of Nazi genocidal policy, in 10 regional actions 60,000 Polish teachers, entrepreneurs, landowners, social workers, military veterans, members of national organisations, priests, judges, and political activists were killed. The Intelligenzaktion was continued by the German AB-Aktion operation in Poland.

In West Prussia, the Selbstschutz organization led by SS-Gruppenführer Ludolf von Alvensleben was 17,667 men strong, and by 5 October 1939 had already executed 4,247 Poles. Notably, Alvensleben complained to the Selbstschutz officers that too few Poles had been shot. German officers had reported to him that only a fraction of Poles had been "destroyed" in the region, with the total number of those executed in West Prussia during this action being about 20,000. One Selbstschutz commander, Wilhelm Richardt, said in Karolewo (Karlhof) that he did not want to build big camps for Poles and feed them, and that it was an honour for Poles to fertilize the German soil with their corpses. There was visible enthusiasm for activities of the Selbstschutz among those involved in the action. Only in one case a Selbstschutz commander was relieved of duty after failing to finish his job with "only" 300 Poles executed.

The total number of Selbstschutz members in Poland is estimated by historians at 82,000. The organization was ordered to be dissolved on 26 November 1939 in favour of service with the SS, yet the work continued until the spring of 1940. Among the reasons for dissolution were the Selbstschutz's extreme corruption, disorderly behaviour and conflicts with other organizations, as well as excessive use of force.

The existence of a large paramilitary organization of ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship who engaged in widespread massacres of ethnic Poles in the course of the German war against Poland was one of the reasons for the expulsion of Germans after the war. A description of the Selbstschutz's involvement, made available by the Polish State Museum in Sztutowo, contains material compiled three years before the war broke out, for the Nazi authorities to use in extermination of the Poles thereafter.

See also

Notes

  1. Jansen and Weckbecker, 1992, pp. 7-8
  2. For discussion see: "The Makhnovists and the Mennonites: war and peace in the Ukrainian Revolution" https://libcom.org/history/makhnovists-mennonites-war-peace-ukrainian-civil-war
  3. Smith, 1981, p. 316
  4. Krahn, Cornelius and Al Reimer (2008) . "Selbstschutz, Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online". Archived from the original (Internet Archive) on February 2, 2010. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  5. The Avalon Project : Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. 3 - Eleventh Day
  6. Winson Chu (25 June 2012). The German Minority in Interwar Poland. Cambridge University Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-107-00830-4.
  7. Kazimierz Sobczak (1975). Encyklopedia II wojny światowej. Wydawictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej. p. 420.
  8. ^ Konrad Ciechanowski (2006). "Oboz dla Jencow Cywilnych (Zivilgefangenenlager)" [Internment of Civilian Prisoners]. Obozy Podlegle Organom Policyjnym (Monografia KL STUTTHOF. Chapter 2). Stutthof Museum (Państwowe Muzeum Stutthof w Sztutowie). Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2014. Translation from Polish: Rozstrzeliwanych dobijano łopatami, kolbami, a niekiedy zakopywano jeszcze żywych. Matki zmuszano do układania w wykopanych dołach swoich dzieci, a potem je same rozstrzeliwano. Przed rozstrzelaniem gwałcono dziewczęta i kobiety.
  9. Encyklopedia PWN, Intelligenzaktion. September–November 1939. Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine (in Polish)
  10. Maria Wardzyńska, "Był rok 1939 Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion". IPN Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, 2009, ISBN 978-83-7629-063-8
  11. Meier, Anna "Die Intelligenzaktion: Die Vernichtung der polnischen Oberschicht im Gau Danzig-Westpreußen" VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, ISBN 3-639-04721-4 ISBN 978-3-639-04721-9
  12. ^ Browning (2004). The Origins of the Final Solution. University of Nebraska Press. p. 33. ISBN 9780803213272.
  13. "History of concentration camp Stutthof". State Museum of Stutthof (Muzeum Stutthof w Sztutowie). Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.

References

  • Jansen, Christian; Weckbecker, Arno (1992). Der "Volksdeutsche Selbstschutz" in Polen 1939/40 (Schriftenreihe der Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte - Bd. 64). München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag. ISBN 3-486-64564-1.
  • C. Henry Smith, Revised and expanded by Cornelius Krahn (1981), "Smith's Story of the Mennonites", Faith and Life Press, Newton, Kansas, ISBN 0-87303-069-9
  • Browning, Christopher R. (2004). The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-1327-1.
  • "Germany and Eastern Europe: Cultural Identities and Cultural Differences", Keith Bullivant, Geoffrey Giles, Walter Pap
  • "Selbstschutz im Luftschutz. Eine Anweisung für jedermann über Schutz und Verhalten bei Fliegerangriffen". E. Ohlenhof, H. von Mutius, Berlin-Wilmersdorf: Selbstschutz Verlag, s.d. , 1925.
  • Georges Jerome Les milices d'autoprotection de la communauté allemande de Pomérélie, Posnanie et Silésie polonaise 1939 1940. Revue Guerres mondiales et conflits contemporains PUF n°163 1991

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